The objective of this study was to examine the distal rotation of mesial rotated maxillary first permanent molars in a sample of Class II dental malocclusion adult patients treated with Invisalign Clear Aligners (CA). Forty patients (20 males, 20 females, 22.4 ± 3.9 years) were included in the study sample (Department of Orthodontics of University of Rome “Tor Vergata”). Inclusion criteria were: Caucasian ancestry, complete permanent dentition with fully erupted upper second molars, Class II molar relationship, absence of tooth or craniofacial anomalies or caries and periodontal diseases. Pre-treatment (T1), post-treatment (T2) digital casts, and final ClinCheck simulation models (T2CC) were analysed. To measure the rotation of maxillary first molars, Henry’s angle (H°) was evaluated. Maxillary first molars with an H° > 11° were considered mesio-rotated (in total 59 teeth). The treatment CA protocol included disto-rotation without distalization movements. At T1, T2 and T2CC five measurements on the collected dental casts were analysed: Henry’s angle (H°); mesial buccal expansion (ME); distal buccal expansion (DE); mesial buccal sagittal (MS); and distal buccal sagittal (DS). A comparison between the results of T2-T1 and T2CC-T2 was performed using a paired t-test. The differences between T2-T1 highlighted a significant distal rotation of the maxillary first molars (−7.4°) and an expansion movement of 2.20 mm for ME and 1.50 mm for DE. In the post-treatment, the mesial buccal cusps shifted of 1.0 mm, while the distal buccal cusps showed a distal movement of 0.9 mm. Analysing the H° comparison between T2CC-T2, the difference was −1.1°. The T2CC-T2 comparison in the sagittal plane showed a difference of 0.9 mm for the MS and 0.7 mm for the DS. The accuracy was 82% for molar derotation movement. In conclusion, CA provides the upper arch expansion associated with the upper first molars’ distal rotation. These movements provide 2 mm of improvement in arch perimeter and molar intercuspation.
Keywords: 3D cast analysis; Class II; aligners therapy.